How to get rid of dandelions

For some reason, my lawn has been taken over by dandelions this year. I
have tried spraying weed killer (Ortho: the type that you hook with the
water hose and spray with water), but that doesn't seem to help.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
-sm

If the chemical warfare doesn't pan out for you and you're up for hours of
backbreaking labor, you could try pulling them out manually. Personally I
like to just rip off the flowers if the plant is small. If it doesn't die
of shame, it will try shooting up more flowers at which point you can dig
out the tap root. You may even be able to count this as lawn aeration on
your income tax return. I wouldn't compost the debris after yordeling them
with whatever herbicide you've been using, but if you stick all your
dandelion pulls in a bucket with some water, it makes for some serious kind
of stanky.

I've had the best luck killing creeping charlie by fluffing it up with a
steel rake before I mow, so the lawnmower gets it. I also pull some of
it by hand. Chemicals don't seem to bother it much. I haven't tried
Trimec yet because I haven't had to. Raking and mowing works
surprisingly well.
-Bob

I finally called a lawn service two weeks ago. My lawn full of dandelions
was completely devoid of the yellow flowers and seed heads two days after
they sprayed it, and a week later there was no sign of the weed at all.
The lawn service aerated my lawn three days ago and after a good watering,
the grass is greener and fuller than I have ever seen it.
They will return in another two weeks to treat for crabgrass.
Unless ALL your near-by neighbors con troll the dandelions and crabgrass in
their yards, your chances of controlling them in your lawn by just pulling
them, especially in a larger yard, are next to nil.

in
You can use less toxic pre-emergent herbicides to prevent weeds from
starting. Along with good cultural practices that promote a dense, healthy
turf, this should keep your nighbors' weeds from getting established in your
yard, all but eliminating the need to use post-emergents or physical
removal.

all.
crabgrass
Most of the "step one" turf builders have a pre-emergent herbicide. Look
for labels that say they "prevent" weeds. I believe that Scott's turf
builder with Halts is a pre-emergent. It inhibits seeds from germinating
(like Preen). It won't kill existing weeds, so you will have to deal with
the ones that are already there. After that, you can prevent 99% of them
with the pre-emergent treatment and spot treat the couple that pop up here
and there.

Hound,
Do you know what chemical the lawn service sprayed in your lawn to get
rid of dandelions?
For me, this is turning out to be a serious problem. I am afraid that
these things will end up killing all the grass.
Thanks.
-sm

They use 2,4-d or something chemically very similar to it. I can smell
the stuff when the lawn services do my neighbors' lawns. And it doesn't
kill grass from the overspray like Round-up does.
I use 2,4-d in a spray bottle and squirt each dandelion or thistle with
it. The goal is to use a little 2,4-d as I can get by with and still
get the job done. Granules or a hose-on sprayer put down way too much
poison in my opinion. Usually one application in the spring is all I
need for a year; the grass can compete after that.
If you really have a lot of dandelions to do, use a pump-up sprayer.
But be careful what you use that sprayer for once you've put weed killer
in it.
Bob

I'm not Hound, but Weed-Be-Gone works well on dandelions. It needs
to be used before the weather gets too hot, above 85 F, I think. It
won't harm your grass but will harm other broad leafed plants. I
usually use it in the fall, but it works in the spring too.
Regards,
Hal

This is especially true if you are feeble or have more cents than sense.
You are far more likely to have dandelion germination from flower heads
that fallen in situ due to herbicide action or your own mowing than cast
adrift on the wind from a neighbor.
It's not a problem as long as you continue to pay the lawn company for
emergent control OR if you remove the flowers in the first place. If you
don't want to pay a lawn company, it seems to me that it would be about the
same amount of work pulling a root with a dandelion fork as it would be
going around hand spraying. YTFMLMV.

It has nothing to do with being feeble or having more cents than sense.
It about wasting valuable time fighting a loosing battle.
The lawn company is not stupid, they put down a herbicide for the dandelions
along with a pre emergent to prevent the falling dandelion seeds from
germinating.

back
This is what I have experienced. We moved into a 7 year old house 8 years
ago. The previous owners had no interest in gardening and the entire
landscape was neglected. The lawn had a lot of weeds and crabgrass along
with bare spots. We moved in on March 1st, and I started with a turfbuilder
with a pre-emergent herbicide immediately. I followed this with the usual
post-emergent treatment. Insects and fungus weren't a problem so I skipped
the turfbuilders with insect control. For a few years I overseeded and top
dressed the lawn. Since the lawn has filled in nicely and the weeds and
crabgrass are gone, I stopped the pre-emergent and post-emergent treatments.
A weed will appear now and then, but they are easily controlled with spot
treatments. I don't think that discontinuing the application of herbicides
on a healthy lawn will necessarily result in an infestation of weeds. As
for the lawn care company - I can't imagine using one. I guess I'm just too
thrifty to pay someone for something that I can do with so little effort.

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